50 years after Apollo 13, we can now see the moon as the astronauts did

[flash13]

50 years after Apollo 13, we can now see the moon as the astronauts did

 

 

 

This Saturday (April 11) will mark 50 years since NASA's Apollo 13 mission launched on an unexpectedly tumultuous journey around the moon. Now, a modern lunar orbiter has reconstructed what

 

the Apollo 13 astronauts would have seen of the lunar surface. 

 

 

Famously described as a "successful failure," Apollo 13 did not go as planned: An oxygen tank exploded 56 hours into the mission. Thankfully, some fast-thinking teamwork between the astronauts

 

and mission control back on Earth salvaged the mission and, after a trip around the moon, the astronauts safely returned to Earth. 

 

 

 

So, while the crew didn't land on the moon as planned, they did travel around it and, thanks to modern technology, we can now see what they saw on this journey. 

 

A photo of the lunar surface taken by the Apollo 13 astronauts on their trip around the

 

 

 

moon. Soon after sunrise, the Apollo 13 crew snapped this incredible shot of the moon.

(Image credit: NASA)Soon after sunrise, the Apollo 13 crew snapped this incredible shot of

the moon

 

To create this virtual trip around the moon, this team was also informed by photos taken by

the Apollo 13 crew during this trip around the moon. You can see some of the captivating

 

original images above, but you can also find every Apollo 13 photo ever online in the Apollo

Image Atlas. 

 

 

A snapshot of the Tsiolkovskiy crater, taken by the Apollo 13 crew with a telephoto lens. (Image credit: NASA)

A snapshot of the Tsiolkovskiy crater, taken by the Apollo 13 crew with a telephoto lens. 

 

Researchers used data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission to recreate what the Apollo 13 crew saw as they flew around the far side of the moon. In the video, you can see craters and other lunar features emerge from the darkness. You can imagine yourself as any of the crewmembers — commander Jim Lovell, command module pilot Jack Swigert or lunar module pilot Fred Haise — looking down and watching the lunar surface pass by as the spacecraft flew overhead. 

In addition to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, the researchers also consulted the Apollo 13 flight plan and, despite the major change in plans with the mission, were able to use the position and speed at the craft's closest point to the Moon which was listed in the Apollo 13 Mission Report. Taken together, those details allowed them to determine factors including the position and speed of the spacecraft at its closest point to the moon, which helped clarify the vehicle's trajectory. 

 

Source

[BimBamSmash]

The movie adaption of this incident is incredible. Caught it again the other day. Had me at the edge of my sit the whole time despite knowing how it all was going to end. What an amazing ride.